CHOCOLATE AND HAZELNUT GRANOLA (LIGHTLY SWEETENED)

     Yesterday I welcomed the new season in the best way possible. By doing a makeover to my hair, and mood! I have always been and still am the girly, romantic individual who fantasises about spending time in a Parisian cafe, reading poetry or a cult novel. Without being too detailed about it, I got some cute bangs on my forehead. The kind of bangs that hang loosely from the top of your head, without being too structured or formed. I'm in love! Although I didn't expect to like them as much, I always thought that they wouldn't look good on me or something. For sure, I look like a kid without make up or proper adult clothes, but who cares? As I'm proceeding to getting 30 next year, I could use some high school vibes.

     Thins are getting pretty hectic this September. My best friend here in Zurich is getting married, my graduation is next week and some pretty exciting news hit me last Friday. Can't wait for everything to happen and some of my dreams to come true soon. Other than that, I am a bit away from the blog lately as I am working full time now and my time is limited, but also I had zero creativity and motivation during summer. As a sensitive and creative nature, I cannot help it but feel beaten up by algorithms on Instagram or generally the net, where gifted individuals who don't get as much followers or audience are left behind. Also, I am not a person to monetise my passion, I think that would kill it. You see, to me creating recipes and taking photos is a passion. And I want it to stay like that. My only escape from everyday life and problems. My true time alone.

     This morning I was looking for something crunchy to eat, but I was left out of my old coconut granola. I was also filling the cold weather taking out some part of the summer joy and bringing in some blues, so I thought it would be nice to make something enjoyable to eat every morning this fall. Then, the idea popped into my head to create a recipe that paired chocolate and hazelnut. Nutella, you might say. And you are probably right, since it almost tastes like it. But this granola, however, doesn't have all the nasty stuff you find in nutella, like palm oil and badly processed sugar, so that you can enjoy it for breakfast and you won't feel hungry in 1 hour after eating it.

     I added Dutch unsweetened cocoa and a cocoa with peanut butter I bought last year from Edinburgh. When I saw it, memories were brought back to me from our trip last year. The mesmerising little streets, the warmth of the small and big cafes and the overall atmosphere of an old city with its knights in shining armour. In Edinburgh I felt so alive, even though the city has very dark colors. My boyfriend loved it too and we are planning on visiting Scotland again this year and perhaps visit some other villages or cities.

     This recipe is easy and versatile, which is how I like my granola to be. In all seriousness though, it really is something to make in big batches and enjoy throughout the fall. I used a small amount of sweetener (honey), but if you want to add more you can (up to 2 more tablespoons). I wouldn't however skip on the good quality of cocoa, because that is what makes this granola AMAZING.

Chocolate and Hazelnut Granola (lightly sweetened)

ingredients

2 1/2 cups of whole oats (not the instant cooking ones)

1/3 cup coconut oil

1 tablespoon honey (or add two more for a sweeter taste)

1/4 cup + 1 tablespoon unsweetened Dutch cacao

pinch of salt

1/2 cup raw and chopped hazelnuts

1/4 cup dried fruit (cranberries, raisins, coconut)

1/2 teaspoon vanilla or hazelnuts extract

How do I make it?

1. In a large bowl, add the oats, dried fruit, salt and chopped hazelnuts. Using a small pot, pour inside the coconut oil, honey and cacao and try incorporating everything in medium heat. Basically you only need them to melt enough to become one smooth mixture. Be careful to stir continuously and not let them get too hot or burn.

2. Pour the warm liquid mixture to the large bowl and mix well. Try  mixing the bottom of the bowl thoroughly because most of the oats that are there don't get moistened with the liquid. Preheat the over to 170C.

3. Use a large flat pan and cover it with baking sheet. Pour on top the raw granola and spread it throughout the pan. Bake the granola for 30 to 40 minutes, depending how crispy you want it. Enjoy with milk, yoghurt or just on its own!

OATS, APPLE & RAISINS BREAKFAST SCONES WITH DULCE DE LECHE

      This post is dedicated to somebody special that didn't know what Internet probably is but would be happy to know that we will think of her for the rest of the days. 

     The week started overall well, but the weekend was even better. My best friend here in Zurich asked me to make her wedding cake in September and I was so, so happy of the proposal. As she wants a rather boho wedding, I thought of a naked cake would be the best choice. As any other professional cake maker (I totally am), I decided to make a cake testing with two flavours for her and her future husband to taste. Let me tell you, they loved both, but at the end of the day we had to decide on one flavour and go with it. You may have seen some of my posts on instagram with the cake. I sincerely fell in love with this mini version of a cake. And my friends did too.

     I also had the chance to go to the Limmatschwimmen! Zurich friends, HOW AMAZING was this? I thought it was going to be awkward, but in reality it was really fun and the river was full of people. Of course, many thanks to Stadt Zürich for organizing this event and let's hope next year's animal is a unicorn. For those of you you who don't know the event, it's basically swimming in the Limmat river for about 2km or 1,5 hours holding on to a floating animal. This ywar the animal was a sea horse. My friends also enjoyed the event, although one of the guys was unlucky that his animal got blown out and he was barely surviving on it.

      I apologise for not posting this recipe earlier, but some things got in the way with my new job and as I am an extremely, over the top anxious and responsible human being (as much as I hate it often), I had to devote some of my time to it. 

     Anyways, the recipe is finally being written in this post. Lately, I have been experiencing some nostalgia for Edinburgh or Great Britain in general. Maybe it's because I really am over summer and want fall to come. And what place or which country better represents fall than UK? The land of creamy porridge and buttery biscuits. It was no surprise that I was looking for recipes on healthier versions for biscuits, since I am making an effort to eat healthy as much as I can. And to me, a healthy breakfast sets the tone for the day. As so, I wanted to create biscuits that you could eat in the morning occasionally and not feel like you ate a cake or something. Plus, what better way to celebrate upcoming fall than an apple, cinnamon and raisin biscuit (drizzled with dulce de leche sauce if you feel fancy)? 

     Oats, Apple, Cinnamon and Raisins Breakfast Scones (with dulce de leche)

ingredients (for 12 scones)

1 cup oats

1 cup white flour

3/4 cup whole wheat flour

1/4 cup sugar

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup softened butter

1 cup buttermilk

1 medium apple cut in small pieces or grated

2 teaspoons cinnamon

1/4 cup raisins

topping (optional): dulce de leche 

How do I make it?

1. Mix together the butter and sugar with an electrical mixer until the butter softens and the sugar has been incorporated. Then add the buttermilk and mix well again. In another bowl, mix together the oats, flours, baking soda, cinnamon and salt. When ready, start adding the mixture to the wet ingredients in 5 additions. 

2. Once everything is incorporated, stop the mixer and add the apple with raisins. Try to mix everything with a wooden spoon or your hands. In the end your dough might be slightly wet. Don't worry about this, the scones will be moist and not dry.

3. Preheat oven to 180 C. Use a round pan for cakes, place a baking paper and then transfer the dough in the pan. Bake for 20 minutes or until the scones are nicely brown. Let them cool for some minutes and then cut them into pieces, as you would cut a cake or a pizza.

4. If you wish, you can drizzle some premade dulce de leche sauce on top!

WARM PORRIDGE WITH COCONUT MILK AND PUMPKIN

     When everything goes bad and I feel like I'm in a desperate need for a change, I turn into the nature. Just by taking a few moments to look around the beautiful world we are living in, we can see that our problems might be so small. There are so many bad things happening these days to people, animals, nature and every other aspect of this cycle called life. If we only stopped caring for ourselves and only, we would see what's going on around the world and try to care more for our neighbour in need.

     Now, you may think I'm talking nonsense and don't have an example myself to give. Well, I may not donate money or volunteer to build houses in poor areas, but I believe that it starts with the person sitting next to you. Start talking to them. Or better to your family and friends. Another powerful thing to do is to share food. I mean, that's the greater power of it, to connect people around a table. It was, has been and will be the best way to get to know someone. People don't lie when they are eating, they are true. 

     Which brings me to a wonderful recipe I made this Wednesday. If you are a frequent reader you may know my love for porridge. Other people find it plain and boring, I find it...well plain and boring if you're not using lots of toppings. Truth must be said! I was looking for recipes with pumpkin around the blogosphere to get some inspiration and came across Local Milk's own recipe of Pumpkin Pie Oatmeal. She is such an amazing photographer and blogger, only seeing her photos makes you hungry. Her recipe for sure inspired the one I created that morning, especially the cooking part of the oats.

    Even if you don't love oatmeal so much, you should try this one out. I used coconut milk, because I find it gives this creamy texture to your porridge and just to anything to be honest. It's my go-to for carry, pumpkin soup, smoothies and sometimes even cakes. Nothing wrong will happen when you use coconut milk. And then the pumpkin, really gives this porridge a 5 star grading. With every bite you feel the sweet flavour of pumpkin and the spices paired perfectly together.

Warm Porridge with Coconut Milk and Pumpkin

ingredients (for 2 to 3 persons)

1 cup oats

1 cups coconut milk (at least 60% coconut flesh)

3 cups water

1 cup pumpkin puree

1/4 cup honey or maple syrup

2 teaspoons cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon cloves

1/4 teaspoon ground ginger

1/4 teaspoon pepper

1 teaspoon vanilla essence

pinch of salt

toppings: dried fruit (cranberries, saltanas), crunchy granola, nuts, nut butters, coconut milk

How do I make it?

1.Fill a medium pan with the oats, coconut milk and water. Stir for a little bit and then cover the pan, while cooking the oats on low heat for 10 minutes. Every 5 minutes lift the lid of the pan and stir the oats, then cover again.

2. After the 10 minutes have passed, add the pumpkin puree and mix it very well in the oats. This will perhaps be difficult because the oats will have become sticky (not dry though). Cover the pan again and cook for another 8 minutes (again lift the lid and mix a little bit the oats).

3. Uncover the pan and add inside all the spices and honey. You want to do this at the last part to give the porridge a kick. Mix the porridge really well with a big spoon to make sure everything is mixed together.

4. Pour the porridge into desired bowls. I prefer deep and small bowls, because they keep the porridge warm for longer. You can add your favourite toppings on top. I added some dried cranberries and two tablespoons of crunchy granola. But I think you can also eat it plain. Just add some more honey on top and you are ready to go!

PUMPKIN SPICE BREAKFAST MUFFINS

     Oh the sweet breeze of autumn wind. The hot cup of hazelnut latte you are dying to drink once the first leaves start to fall. It's autumn again and everything starts feeling like it should be. Autumn feels like a new beginning for me, especially around this time. It's one of the best times of the year if you think of it as a passage to Christmas or until the new year comes.

     It's also the year pumpkins come around in all shapes and sizes. In my home country, Greece, we don't incorporate them that much into our dishes, perhaps, maybe into some savoury fyllo pie. But abroad and especially here in Switzerland, I noticed them everywhere I went. There is even a pumpkin farm close to Zurich, where one can go and find...pumpkins of course, among other delicacies made with pumpkins.

    Before I get further into the pumpkin conversation, I wanted to say that we are going on vacation next week to the magical country of Scotland! We are visiting Edinburgh with my boyfriend and we couldn't be more excited about it. I am already picturing in my mind the green hills and mountains, the moody, but beautiful houses and cottages. The food...although it contains a lot of meat and eggs, I feel I have to experience it as well. 

    I have already asked around friends that either have been there or lived there, so I already have my notes on where to go and where to eat. After some really hard and difficult time in September, I am ready to go on vacation and enjoy myself, without thinking about life, work and all that very serious, but stressful things.

    So this new recipe I have created, as you might have guessed from my previous rant, includes pumpkin. I decided to make some muffins, since they are easily eaten and they don't need a lot of preparation. Lately, time is very important to me! Also, I made them a little healthy and breakfast-friendly, since I am trying to cut on added sugar and incorporate mashed banana anywhere. Apart from it having a sweet taste, it gives your mixture a stickiness that is needed, without making it too dense. 

     Here in Switzerland, I haven't yet found canned pumpkin. I think this is only found in America or maybe somewhere else as well. But if you are like me and you need to roast or boil your pumpkin to get a pumpkin puree, then maybe you need to do this a day before, if you don't have so much time in one day.

Pumpin Spice Breakfast Muffins

ingredients (for 12 muffins)

200gr pumpkin puree (canned or homemade)

175gr dinkel flour (or wholewheat)

2 mashed ripe bananas

2 eggs

2 tablespoons agave sirup

2 teaspoons baking powder

1 pinch of salt

1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon clove

1/2 teaspoon cardamom

1/2 teaspoon pumpkin spice

100 ml olive oil

20 walnuts

optional topping: dark chocolate 70% 

how do I make it?

1. Whisk the mashed banana with the eggs in a large bowl very well. Then incorporate inside the olive oil, pumpkin puree and agave sirup and whisk well again.

2. In a separate bowl mix together the flour, salt, cinnamon, cardamom, pumpkin spice and baking powder. Pour the mixture in two doses into the wet mixture. Whisk well until everything is combined, but don't overmix your batter. Last add your walnuts after you have slightly chopped them.

3. Preheat your over to 180C. Place muffin paper tins in your muffin tray and start filling them with the batter, filling up to 2/3 and some more. Let the batter sit on the tins for 5 minutes.

4. Place your muffins in the oven and bake for 15 to 20 minutes. Test with a toothpick.

5. Once they have cooled down completely you can melt some dark chocolate and sprinkle it on top if you want them a little bit sweeter.

BLISS BALLS WITH PUFFED AMARANTH, WHOLE WHEAT TAHINI AND COCONUT

     When life gets hard, we should get tougher! I was very excited the past few days for an upcoming pet arriving in our house. We were to have a wonderful husky puppy in our apartment a few days ago. But it seemed like it wasn't meant to be for now, there were a lot of problems from the beginning, and although we struggled hard, in the end we couldn't have the dog. We tried to stay positive about it and not give up! Because giving up means accepting that you are powerless and can only see the glass half empty. We may have been unlucky this time, but next time it will be better. I am sure of it!

     In other news, student and work life is getting pretty good. I have adjusted to it, only because I try to keep a fixed schedule of everything and keep myself fed well. For the later part, I have been making healthy lunch meals which I prep on Sunday and keeping myself energised by making some homemade protein bars. But what about snacks? Since I am a snack person, especially the days I work out, I need to have something easy and relatively healthy to munch on. Hence, the creation of bliss balls...

     Aren't they just the cutest? With one ball you can have a good amount of healthy fats (tahini and coconut oil) and complete source of protein (amaranth). I had to do some googling for this one, as I haven't used it before and didn't know what was its nutritional profile. 

     After some search, I learned that amaranth has some important benefits we need to be aware of:

• it's a complete source of protein, having all 9 essential amino acids
• it's a gluten free grain
• it can help with inflammation and high cholesterol levels (LDL) or triglycerides. 
• it's a very good source of vitamins and minerals

     

     I had some puffed amaranth hanging around my pantry and I wanted to give it a go in a recipe for a long, long time. Yesterday morning inspiration stroke! I created a very easy and simple recipe for a bite-sized snack that you can take with you anywhere. In this recipe I've added whole-wheat tahini, which I find pairs extremely well with coconut, but if you don't have it you can use simple tahini or almond butter.

Bliss balls with puffed Amaranth, whole wheat tahini and coconut

ingredients (makes 14 to 16 small balls)

1 cup Medjool dates 

1/2 cup almonds

1 1/2 cup puffed Amaranth

2 tablespoons whole wheat tahini

1/2 cup coconut flakes

1 tablespoon coconut oil

how do I make it?

1. If the dates are a little dry or hard, let them soak in cold water for 1 hour beforehand. Then, in a food processor put all of your ingredients apart from Amaranth. Let everything mix very well together. 

2. Step by step start adding the puffed Amaranth into the food processor. Once you have pour it all in and a soft sticky mixture is created, it's time to start shaping those bliss balls.

3. Take a tablespoon of the mixture in your hands and start forming a ball shape. Be a little thorough with this step, as you want the balls to stay sticky and not fall apart once you let them out of your hands. 

4. Place the balls on a plate or small pan and put them in the fridge to chill.

5. Enjoy every bite!

HOMEMADE COCONUT GRANOLA WITH SUPERFOODS

     With the middle of August coming tomorrow, I can't believe that summer will soon be over. Tomorrow we are having some of our friends over for barbequeing the Greek way, which translates into a lot of juicy meet and fresh vegetables being grilled. I'm going to provide dessert and my help to my boyfriend, as well as cleaning the house, preparing everything for the food and perhaps getting some flowers. 

     I love having friends over for food. It feels like taking care of your family, so personal and intimate. Everyone is laughing, having a great time and although there is a lot of work behind it, it doesn't matter, because these are memories we are going to have for the rest of our lives...

     Yesterday we went for another one of our big walks into the forrest we have here in Rümlang. To our surprise, as we took another road that we've never taken before, we met some young deers. Babies to be correct. Of course, they were scared of us and run quickly the other way, we could see them in the depth of the trees taking a peak at us. Or so we liked to think! It was rejuvenating to be back in the nature and look at its creatures. So simple and yet so beautiful, without the human interference.

     In the morning I also managed to quickly prepare a homemade granola. I've been wanting to make some for a long, long time, but I have been postponing it. Only because I think if I make it then I will be tempted to it right away, and it's not the least caloric thing to eat. But to be frank I had A LOT of oat flakes in my pantry and I needed to do something with them, since porridge is not a usual dish during the summer.

     The recipe for this one is very simple. You have wet and dry ingredients and you mix them together. Also, the great thing about granola is that you can add whatever exists in your fridge or pantry without worrying about it going wrong. Now, these are the recipes I like. If you are busy and trying to do everything at once, then this will help you a lot in the kitchen spectrum. Plus granola is so versatile and it can be paired with so many other ingredients like yoghurt, milk, as a topping on your porridge, an add-on for smoothies and on its own.

     This granola is a little different that your usual kind, since it contains three amazing and good for you superfood powders: Maca, Mesquite and Reishi. Each on each own with numerous benefits for the health. I will start with Maca, my favourite one, a root used by the Incans, which helps with balancing your female hormones, acne, energy levels anaemia and libido. During the Incan Empire it is said that soldiers used it to regain their energy. Reishi is a medicinal mushroom used in Traditional Chinese Medicine and has some effects on protecting you from infections, cancerous cells and chronic fatigue. Mesquite is natural sweetener that doesn't spike your blood glucose levels, which has a lot of fibre and omega 3s. 

    So there you go! A healthy version of granola you must not resist!

Homemade coconut granola with superfoods

ingredients

4 cups oats

1 cup coconut slices

1 cup nuts (I used almonds, walnuts, flaxseed, popped Amarath and pumpkin seeds)

1 pinch salt

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1 tablespoon of each: Maca powder, Mesquite meal and Reishi powder

1/4 cup coconut oil (liquid form)

1/4 cup honey or agave syrup

how do I make it?

1. Preheat your oven to 150C. Mix together all the ingredients in a large bowl very well. Everything needs to be combined well before toasting the granola.

2. In a large pan, place a baking paper and then pour on top the mixture in your bowl. With a spoon, make sure the mixture goes fills the surface of the pan.

3. Put the pan in the oven and toast for about 30 to 40 minutes. I toasted mine for 45 minutes. This depends on how crunchy you like it. Every 10 minutes after you begin to toast your granola, open the door of the oven and carefully mix again the mixture with a spoon to make sure everything in there gets a colour.

4. When your granola is ready, take it out of the oven and let it cool completely before serving.